ex-USNS Ship Swift(HSV 2) struck by missile

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
It is speculated that the missile that destroyed the ship was a Chinese C-802. there is a video of the attack in the article.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed Friday that they hit a former U.S. Navy test ship in the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb with "rockets" and that it has been "completely destroyed."

The vessel, the HSV-2 Swift, was operating under the control of the Saudi-led, pro-government coalition fighting the rebels. The coalition confirmed the attack and claimed that the vessel had been conducting a routine humanitarian relief mission to Aden.

The Yemeni government said in a statement that the strike was a "terrorist attack that violates international laws" and a "flagrant aggression against life."

State-owned media said that all aboard were rescued with no loss of life.

The coalition forces have been attempting to drive the rebels from the highlands overlooking the strait, but the Houthi fighters still control much of the coastline.

The futuristic hybrid catamaran HSV-2 was built in 2003 and leased to Military Sealift Command until 2013. She was used as a proof of concept / testing vessel for the U.S. Navy, and she engaged in a wide variety of activities, including MCM, forward staging for Navy SEAL teams, humanitarian relief during Hurricane Katrina and the Israel-Lebanon conflict, and testing for the deployment of unmanned surveillance blimps.

The Swift was capable of shallow water operations and had a quarter ramp for ro/ro loading, in addition to a helicopter deck, making her suitable for logistics operations. Her top speed was 45 knots. She was lightly armed and armored, built to commercial rather than military design standards, and was not fitted with a close-in weapons system for anti-ship missile defense.

After her Navy charter ended, she underwent a refit at the Incat yard in Australia in preparation for sale. Jane's Defense reported that she was sold to the National Marine Dredging Company of UAE.

Her last recorded AIS position, at 1640 hours September 30, showed her in the Gulf of Aden and making way for Bab al-Mandeb.

The destruction of the Swift is at least the fourth such anti-ship missile attack off Yemen, following three strikes on coalition naval vessels last year. So far, the rebels have not targeted merchant shipping.

Analysts suggest that the Chinese made C-802 anti-ship missile – a compact, truck-mounted launch platform used by the Yemeni Navy – was the ordnance most likely used in the strike.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General

Equation

Lieutenant General
I believe quite a few were killed.

One day we will know.

But there was no report of death as far I know of. I'm just going by the last article that Popeye posted said, "State-owned media said that all aboard were rescued with no loss of life."
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
But there was no report of death as far I know of. I'm just going by the last article that Popeye posted said, "State-owned media said that all aboard were rescued with no loss of life."
Apparently there was a crew of 24 on board at the time.

I have heard reports of as many as 22 dead...down to nobody killed byt several injured. see thiese two reports at this link:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Seeing the video of the hit and particularly seeing the pictures of the ship, including the burnt out interior spaces makes it hard for me to believe that no one was killed.

I hope that is so...but have serious doubts when looking at the damage.
 
...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

...
... and this:
Screen-Shot-2016-10-11-at-2.09.00-PM.png

is from USNI News I posted seconds ago in
US Military News, Reports, Data, etc. https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/us-military-news-reports-data-etc.t1547/page-623#post-419166
 
... USNI News I posted seconds ago in
US Military News, Reports, Data, etc. https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/us-military-news-reports-data-etc.t1547/page-623#post-419166
now found additional info in
U.S. sees mounting evidence of Houthi role in strike on U.S. warship
The United States is seeing growing indications that Iran-allied Houthi rebels, despite denials, were responsible for Sunday's attack on a Navy destroyer off the Yemen coast, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The rebels appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct a missile attack on the warship, said U.S. officials, who are not authorized to speak publicly because the investigation is ongoing.

The United States is also investigating the possibility that a radar station under Houthi control in Yemen might have also "painted" the USS Mason, something that would have helped the Iran-aligned fighters pass along coordinates for a strike, said the officials.

Neither of the two missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory on Sunday hit the USS Mason or the nearby USS Ponce, an amphibious transport dock. But the incident threatens to trigger the first direct U.S. military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict, even if it is limited to one-off retaliation.

The Houthis have publicly denied any role in the strike. A senior Western diplomat told Reuters those denials have been communicated privately as well.

But the emerging details of Sunday's incident, if confirmed by a U.S. investigation, would lend further support to the Pentagon's claims that "the facts certainly seem to point" to Houthi involvement. The U.S. military even hinted on Tuesday at possible preparations for a retaliatory strike.

"Anybody who takes action, fires against U.S. Navy ships operating in international waters, does so at their own peril," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing.

The Houthis, who drove the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi from the capital in 2014, had previously avoided targeting U.S. military ships.

Although the United States has provided limited support for the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis, it also has reserved its direct military role in Yemen to the fight against al Qaeda's affiliate, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

That general U.S. policy might still remain in place, even if it opts to carry out one-off retaliatory strikes.

Yemen's war has killed at least 10,000 people and brought parts of the country to the brink of starvation.

HOUTHI CAPABILITIES

The Houthis, who are allied to Hadi's predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, have the support of many army units and control most of the north including the capital Sanaa.

The U.S. military has acknowledged that only the first of the two missiles came close enough to even trigger the USS Mason's defenses, and it is still not clear those were necessary to avoid a direct hit on the ship.

It is also not clear whether those defenses caused the missile to splash down early, or whether it would have fallen short anyway.

The second missile, fired about an hour later, was far enough away that the USS Mason did not deem it necessary to employ its defenses.

But Reuters has learned that the coastal defense cruise missiles themselves had considerable range, adding to concerns about the kind of heavy weaponry that the Houthis appear willing to employ and some of which U.S. officials believe is supplied by Iran.

The second missile, for example, traveled more than two dozen nautical miles before splashing into the Red Sea off Yemen's southern coast, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Houthis had previously acknowledged responsibility for firing on a vessel from the United Arab Emirates a week earlier. Both incidents took place around the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

Gerry Northwood, chief operations officer with British maritime security firm MAST, suggested the Houthis would find it increasingly difficult to stage similar strikes going forward.

"Now that the U.S. is getting involved, it will become increasingly difficult for the Houthis to position their missiles for further attacks," Northwood said.
source:
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 
Top